In land governance, a sector ripe for abuse and corruption, transparency is critical in ensuring land use and allocation is fair and accountable and that tenure rights can be defended and protected. The consequences of a lack of transparency include increased difficulty in unlocking the value of the land as an asset and a lack of awareness of land policies and legal frameworks that can undermine land tenure security, potentially leading to a misallocation of land rights. The opaque nature of land administration systems and decision-making mechanisms exacerbates corruption by land officials, from petty corruption as citizens try to undertake transactions, to major political corruption in land management, such as the illegal sale or lease of state land by public officials - a practice beoming more evident given the current 'land grabbing' phenomenon.

In response, this discussion aims to bring together these stakeholders to address the implications of open data for land governance, including understanding the links between transparency and global challenges, such as overcoming poverty, strengthening property rights for vulnerable populations, enhancing food security and combating corruption. The aim is also to broaden consensus on this issue, define what data is important for the community to be open and begin to collect examples of best practices that can be used as an advocacy point going forward.